God Is. Begin Again.

God Is. Begin Again!

St. Teresa of Avila used to stand outside the confessional to encourage her fellow Carmelites after they received the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The story goes that as the sisters would come out of the confessional she would tell them, one after the other, “Begin again.” Are you looking back as the last hours of Lent 2018 slip into the past? “Begin again.” Pentecost is 50 days after Easter. This year we celebrate Pentecost on May 20th. Still struggling with that same sin? Through God’s infinite sea of Mercy “Begin again.” Divine Mercy Sunday is April 8th.

Are you dizzy from the constant stream of partisan politics, and socio-political strife? With the supernatural gift of patience “Begin again.”

Are you tangled up in a dreadknot of painful memories and shame? Cast it “whole” into the infinite sea of God’s healing power: “Begin again.” Are you afraid of the bad reports in the news like the fact that six of the top ten worst shootings in US history happened in the last 10 years? Turn off your screens, and begin again.

The power of God through His love has created every fiber of your being, your DNA, and even your very soul, and yet he gave you free will and stepped back permanently. We have our faith, and the God given freedom to let it languish, or throw it into the fire of possibility that each new day brings. If you have lost the spiritual fire in your life; Begin Again.

Or if you have never received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit such that you truly experience the live changing Love of God, ASK NOW.

There is a fire of God’s making beginning to spark in our Diocese; a one day retreat experienced already by our beloved Deacons, their wives, and soon many religion coordinators from our schools. The name of this gentle new opportunity is called the “God Is” retreat. This very powerful “one day retreat” program is one of the most life changing, and effective ways to enkindle the fire of the Holy Spirit in your parish community, but most importantly, in your own heart, and in the heart of your family.

It’s time to work together to start God’s kind of Fire: Faith, Intercession, Repentance, and Evangelization. If you want to be lit up by the “Fire of God”, ask, and don’t stop asking. It took 9 days of prayer and fasting for the Holy Spirit to fall on Mary and the Apostles, don’t be surprised if it takes you a bit longer. And what happened on that Day of Pentecost? A rushing wind. And, fire. Ask for the higher gifts, and live every day with the awareness that things can happen very fast, and if you fall, always begin again.